£2.4m project launched to restore ‘wonder plant’ to Scotland’s coasts

A £2.4m seagrass planting programme has been launched to help restore the plant in seas around the north of Scotland.

The project aims to plant 14 hectares (34.6 acres) of seagrass, often described as a “wonder plant” by conservationists, over the next three years.

Seagrasses are often likened to rainforests because they provide food and shelter for thousands of species, but they have been declining globally since the 1930s.

In the last century 92% of the plants have been lost from Britain’s coasts and areas once covered by seagrass are now “lifeless seabeds”, according to research by University College London.

The new initiative is a partnership between the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN).

Grants have been awarded to four organisations that cover areas from Shetland to the Kintyre peninsula.

These are Mossy Earth’s Wilder Firths project (based around the Black Isle), Kintyre Coastal Network’s East Kintyre Biosphere, Wester Ross Fisheries Trust’s seagrass planting project and Restoring Shetland’s Marlie Meadows – a project by the University of the Highlands and Islands.

Seagrass is home to a vast number of species, and is a food source for many others.

It can purify water and slow down waves, protecting coastal areas from flooding as a result.

The plant also takes in CO2, making it useful in tackling climate change.

The partnership said Scottish seas are a special place for marine habitats like seagrass, with the country’s coasts stretching 18,000km (11,185 miles) and containing 8,000 species or more.

SMEEF is hosted by NatureScot, whose chief executive Nick Halfhide said the programme was an example of business and the public sector “joining forces” to “improve the health of our seas, helping to tackle the nature and climate emergencies”.

He said: “Nature and climate are closely linked; if one is suffering, the other will be as well.

“So we need to take care of our seas, and our seagrass, and restore nature at scale.”

Shirley Robertson, SSEN’s head of strategic planning and sustainability, said the support of the four organisations involved will enable the “vital” restoration of seagrass.

She said: “The positive contribution of seagrass to the environment cannot be underestimated, which is why at SSEN we made the commitment in our 2023-28 business plan to help fund the restoration of these underwater meadows.”

Scotland’s acting net zero and energy secretary Gillian Martin said: “It is great to see this investment by SSEN into seagrass restoration, which will benefit wildlife and coastal communities all around Scotland and which really demonstrates the value of SMEEF as an innovative vehicle to attract investment into nature.

“Tackling the twin nature and climate crises cannot be achieved by any government alone – securing private investment is vital to meeting the scale of these challenges.”